Student Senate passes budget resolutions and talks about ASGA

Student Senate voted Wednesday on seven resolutions, and members gave a presentation on the American Student Government Association Conference they attended in New York City.

The Senate members who attended the conference, Hannah Clouser, Courtney Muhl, Nicole Schneider and Zach Woods, told the rest of the body that the Senate was a great example of student government and was doing well comparatively. They also singled out the Student Activities Commission, or SAC, for its work, applauding the commission for “doing a good job.”

The members said Senate could build its brand, talk to one student every day, offer new ways to get students involved and build leadership outside of the Senate body.

After their presentation, the Senate passed resolutions to purchase exam booklets (also called Blue Books) for students, paper shredders for Students Defending Students to protect privacy and refreshments for Housing and Residence Life forums. The forums are for residents on each green so they can voice opinions on how to make residential life better. The shredder will assist in avoiding violations.

Additionally, the group voted to provide funding for an Ohio Women’s event and a film about plastic use to better educate students on the trash process. Logan Stark, environmental affairs commissioner, said the film was something the commission has been trying to execute for a long time.

Student Senate also focused internally and appointed members to certain committees and commissions within the body. Samirah Harris was appointed senator to the Women’s Affairs Commission. Jacob Haskins, the current residence life commissioner, and Stark were appointed to the Rules and Procedures Committee for the remainder of the school year.

During her president’s report, Gabby Bacha discussed textbook culture and how students are told not to buy books until after their classes began.

“The fact that professors can put the books online ahead of time can help students get the best prices,” Bacha said. “A lot of charts show that textbook rates skyrocket two weeks before the semester.”

Bacha said she wants to make the system more reliable and make sure professors use the books they post online, no matter what. That way students would be able to buy their books at a cheaper price. She called on Senate to think of ways to grow financial trust between students and professors.

To conclude the meeting, Bacha reminded Senate of the upcoming election debates that will begin Thursday and continue through next week. The debates will take submitted questions from students and will be live-streamed.

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